Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
Health

How stem cells can speed up cardiac repair

Darpan News Desk IANS, 20 Nov, 2014 11:31 AM
    Delivering stem cells directly into damaged heart muscle after a heart attack may help repair and regenerate injured tissue, according to a study.
     
    “Our discoveries offer insight into the power of stem cells to regenerate damaged muscle after a heart attack,” said lead study author Kenneth Fish from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
     
    In the study, researchers administered stem cell factor (SCF) by gene transfer shortly after inducing heart attacks in pre-clinical models -- directly into damaged heart tissue -- to test its regenerative repair response.
     
    A novel gene transfer delivery system induced the recruitment and expansion of adult cardiac stem cells to injury sites that reversed heart attack damage.
     
    In addition, the gene therapy improved cardiac function, decreased heart muscle cell death, increased regeneration of heart tissue blood vessels and reduced the formation of heart tissue scarring.
     
    “It is clear that the expression of the stem cell factor gene results in the generation of specific signals to neighbouring cells in the damaged heart resulting in improved outcomes at the molecular, cellular and organ level,” explained Roger J. Hajjar, director of the cardiovascular research centre at Mount Sinai.
     
    The findings were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2014 in Chicago.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Copper could help prevent Ebola spread

    Copper could help prevent Ebola spread
    Replacing frequently-touched surfaces, such as door handles, taps and light switches, with solid copper or copper alloy equivalents could be an...

    Copper could help prevent Ebola spread

    Inhaled Ebola vaccine could offer long-term protection

    Inhaled Ebola vaccine could offer long-term protection
    A single dose of a breathable, respiratory vaccine could provide long-term protection against the deadly Ebola virus, new research shows....

    Inhaled Ebola vaccine could offer long-term protection

    Sugar-rich fat maintains supply of brain stem cells

    Sugar-rich fat maintains supply of brain stem cells
    Fat and sugar are considered to be the culprits when it comes to obesity and related health complications but if researchers are to be believed...

    Sugar-rich fat maintains supply of brain stem cells

    Defective nerve insulation triggers migraine

    Defective nerve insulation triggers migraine
    The unbearable headache that migraine patients suffer is due to cellular-level changes in nerve structure, says a study....

    Defective nerve insulation triggers migraine

    Mild BP control adequate for people above 60

    Mild BP control adequate for people above 60
    Even a mild dose of drugs used to treat high blood pressure would be adequate for the elderly population who suffer from the condition, a study says....

    Mild BP control adequate for people above 60

    Research offers hope for patients with cardiovascular disease

    Research offers hope for patients with cardiovascular disease
    A new research has shown a protein, which controls the growth of new blood vessels, could potentially reduce the effects of cardiovascular disease...

    Research offers hope for patients with cardiovascular disease